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From Resource Recycling's E-Scrap News:
Japanese recycling charges aren't cheap
A top trade group in Japan has set recycling fees now charged under the industry's response to a new federal consumer computer takeback law, and the fees are not nominal. The program that began October 1 under the auspices of the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Association (Tokyo) charges customers $27.12 ($US) for a notebook computer. Include a CRT monitor and the fee is $63.29. Because the program includes some 40-computer makers, including giants such as NEC Corp. (Tokyo) and Fujitsu Ltd. (Tokyo), about 98 percent of the industry is involved. Obsolete computers will be picked up by Japan Post, the federal postal service. The program does not accept computers made by companies no longer in business, nor units put together by users.
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Flame retardants may be phased out
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The Environmental Protection Agency is negotiating with a U.S. chemical manufacturer to phase out two toxic chemicals used as flame retardants. The chemicals have been found in potentially harmful levels in human breast milk, and recent widely reported studies found that U.S. mothers had levels 10 to 20 times higher than mothers in Europe.
The flame retardants are two versions of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs: The Penta version is used to make foam and furniture-backing flame retardant; the Octa version is used in the hard plastic casing of electronics such as computers and televisions. In mice and rats, studies have shown that PBDEs may cause cognitive and behavioral changes during development and may lead to higher cancer rates.
PBDEs appear to be present in humans worldwide. Breast milk is tested because PBDEs readily accumulate in fat, and breast milk is the least invasive way to test. The only U.S. manufacturer of the chemicals is Great Lakes Chemical Co. of West Lafayette, Ind. The firm is discussing "a possible voluntary phase-out" of both types with the EPA while the agency does a full evaluation, company spokesman Trevor Francis says. Europe will begin banning both forms next year, and California will ban its use in 2008.
"That would be good news indeed if an agreement could be reached voluntarily," says Arnold Schecter, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Texas. His research, published in August, found very high levels in the breast milk of women in Texas. "You don't want people to die in fires, but you also don't want toxic chemicals in their bodies."
When Swedish companies voluntarily phased out PBDEs in the late 1990s, levels in Swedish women began to drop quickly. The Environmental Working Group, whose study last month that found some of the highest levels ever reported, supports a voluntary ban. "It's to Great Lakes' credit that they acknowledge that they're going to have to comply with this deadline in Europe beginning next year," says EWG's Bill Walker. "It's only fair that they ... honor that in the States as well."
Environmentalists are now turning their attention to the most commonly used PBDE, the Deca type, which also is used in plastics exposed to heat, such as TV casings, PC monitors and blow dryers. "The spin on Deca is that it is safe, but the study we did shows that Deca is showing up in humans and appears to have some of the same health effects," Walker says.
Europe begins banning Deca by 2006. China and South Korea will phase it out of electronics by 2006.
Read the story at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-10-26-flame-retardants_x.htm
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Sustainability Leaders in Computer Industry Win Big, Report Finds
Source: GreenBiz.com
NEW YORK, N.Y., Sept. 8, 2003 - A new report on the global computers and peripherals industry finds a strong correlation between sustainability leadership and return-on-investment and operating profit. The report, released by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc., assesses a wide spectrum of key industry trends and market activity associated with social, environmental, and corporate governance issues and their impacts on corporate bottom line and share price.
As with the majority of the more than 50 industry sectors examined by Innovest, "sustainability leaders" in the computers and peripherals sector substantially out-performed their industry competitors over a three-year period. Companies with above-average Innovest Intangible Value
Assessment ratings, including the three leaders, HP, IBM and Dell, outperformed companies with below-average ratings as a group by approximately 19% at the end of three years from April 2000 to June 2003. Top-performing stocks also posted superior results in other business performance and market valuation ratios, including:
Operating Profit Margin, leaders outperformed laggards by 4.3% versus 1.5%
Return on Equity, 14.6% versus 3.6%
Return on Assets, 3.6% versus 1.6%
Total Return - 1 Year, 26.7%
Total Return - 2 Year, 35.6%
While most players in the tech sector continue to languish in a soft global economy, leading firms have begun to address a host of intangible issues that are expected to define the sector's competitive landscape over the coming years. Chief among these issues are bridging the digital divide -- by providing digital technologies to underserved populations -- and a new global legislative trend to make producers financially responsible for the takeback and recycling of electronic products. Those firms who have received higher Innovest ratings are those best positioned to respond to these issues, with their investors poised to reap the benefits.
Driven by increasing global competition, leading companies are pursuing sustainability best practice in order to leverage new sources of value for stockholders. They are consciously developing innovative products that meet new regulatory and consumer demands, building valuable strategic partnerships with governments and global organizations, and increasing digital access in India, China, South America and other regions to foster future demand for digital technologies. The report identifies those companies that excel in several of these areas and are vigorously integrating these strategies into their business plans.
In total, 18 global competitors in the sector were analyzed. Companies from the U.S., Europe, and Japan were benchmarked based on their strategies to improve performance, reduce risk, and to develop new business opportunities. According to Devin Crago, the study's primary author, leading computer and
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